Improvement in machines for pressing hats



-section of this invention.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL G. (ONGDON, OF MANSFIELD, AND DANIEL C. MOVRY, OF

MILFORD, ll'lASSACIIUSETTS. l

IMPROVEMENT llzl MACHINES FOR PRESSING HATS.

Specification forming` part of Letters Patent No. 45,588, dated December 27, 1864 antcdated September 24, 1864.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL G. )oNG- DON, of Mansfield, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, and DANIEL U. MOWRY, of Milford, in the county of Vorcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and ImprovedMachine forPressingHats; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents a longitudinal vertical Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the saine, the line .r x, Fig. l, indicating the plane of section. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the die, taken in the plane indicated by the line 1/ y, Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding' parts.

This invention relates to a machine in which each hat is pressed by two operations, onehalt' at a time, with solid or non-expansible dies, in such a manner that the same serves to press bell-crowned and other hats. The male die used in this operation is made of wood, so that the same, when applied in combination with a steam-die, will absorb moisture from the material of which the hat is formed, and by its forward motion in the die will produce the gloss, which cannot be obtained by the use of an expansion-die. In order to save time in working the screw spindle which serves to impart motion to the male die, said spindle passes through a clutchnut, which can be readily thrown open in order to allow of moving the die by hand.

A represents a frame, of cast-iron or any other suitable material of suiiicient strength and durability for the occasion. One end of this frame is occupied by the .female die B,

-which is screwed tight to the. end of the steam-chamber C, so that it can be heated conveniently with steam in the ordinary manner, (not shown in the drawings, but may be by a steam-induction pipe communicating with the interior of the die and a cock for the discharge ot' the water of condensation.)

D is the follower, to which the male die E is rigidly attached. This follower is guided provided with shanks, which are hinged to the stud c, and the upper or loose ends of the same are connected by toggle-arms d e, which are operated by a hand-lever, f, so that the jaws can be opened or closed at pleasure.

When the jaws are closed, the arm d covers the arm c, and as long as thetwo arms remain in this position the nut is prevented from opening spontaneously. B v turning the lever up to the position shown in Fig. 2 the jaws are thrown open, and the screw-spindle is allowed to pass freely through the nut. By this arrangement the follower with the male die can be readily moved up toor off from the female die without turning the screw, and much time is saved.

The dies B and E are placed edgewise, so that first one and then the other half of the hat is pressed, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, where the hat is shown in red outlines. By this arrangement of the dies we are enabled to press bell-crowned or any `other kinds of hats without the use of an expansion-die, and the operation ot `pressing can be performed quick and without loss of time.

The male die E is made of a block of wood, which is fastened to the follower, and which may or may not be covered with cloth, felt, or other absorbent and yielding material.

Te use a wooden block, by preference, because the wood is capable of absorbing moisture from the material of which the hat is being formed, and as the hat is forced into the die a gloss is imparted to it, which cannot be produced by the ex'pansiondie.

By this machine the operation of pressing hats is considerably facilitated, and work of superior quality can be produced with comparatively little labor or loss of time.

3. The use of a. wooden block, E, in ecmbination With al steam-die, B, constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose 1 specified.

SAM. G. CONGDON. DANIEL C. MOWRY.

itnesses zv E. M. REED, N. G. VVHITMORE. 

